Here are my week three Pac-12 picks.
Record: Straight up: 16-5, Spread: 10-6
Tonight
#20 Washington State (2-0) at Houston (1-1) 6:15 p.m. (ESPN) Line: WSU -7.5
Washington State rolled over Northern Colorado 59-17 over the weekend. Quarterback Anthony Gordon has 884 yards passing and nine touchdowns in his two games. This week the Cougars face a Houston team that struggles on defense but has electric QB D’Eriq King. Expect a lot of points in this one. I’m not sure Houston can stop anyone at this point.
Washington State 41 Houston 31
Saturday
Air Force (1-0) at Colorado (2-0) 10 a.m. (PAC-12) Line: Colorado -4
Colorado came back from a 17-0 deficit at halftime to stun #25 Nebraska in overtime. QB Steven Montez passed for 375 yards and two touchdowns in the win. The Buffs’ do have some work to do on defense as they have given up a combined 62 points and almost a 1,000 yards in the first two games. This week the defense will face the triple option attack of Air Force. This is a let down spot for the Buffs’
Air Force 31 Colorado 28
Stanford (1-1) at #17 UCF (2-0) 12:30 p.m. (ESPN) Line: -UCF 8.5
K.J. Costello is back for the Cardinal but lost All-American left tackle Walker Little with a torn ACL. UCF is the new Boise State of the non-power five schools. Things could get ugly here as Stanford is going against a much faster team in the heat of Florida.
Pick of the week: UCF 38 Stanford 21
#24 USC (2-0) at BYU (1-1) 12:30 p.m. (ABC) Line: USC -4
The Trojans are thriving under their new “Air Raid” offense. USC quarterback Kedon Slovis will be tested in his first road start against a tough BYU defense. This is a prove it game for coach Clay Helton and the Trojans.
USC 28 BYU 21
Arizona State (2-0) at #18 Michigan State (2-0) 1 p.m. (FOX) Line: Michigan State -15
The Sun Devils have major offensive line concerns. ASU scored just 19 points against Sacramento State last week. But through two games Arizona State has played good defense. Herm Edwards tends to keep his teams in games and I expect a late score to cover the 15 points against a good Sparty team.
Michigan State 24 Arizona State 10
Idaho State (1-0) at #11 Utah (2-0) 1:15 p.m. (Pac-12) Line: N/A
Not much to say here. Utes continue to look like the best team in the conference.
Utah 48 Idaho State 10
North Texas (1-1) at California (2-0) 1:15 p.m. (Pac-12) Line: California -14
The Golden Bears are back in Berkeley after stunning the Huskies in Seattle. California’s defense might be the top unit in the conference. Don’t be fooled by North Texas though. The Mean Green went 9-4 last year – including a 44-17 win at Arkansas. This is a letdown spot for California but I expect the Golden Bears to get their questionable offense going against a struggling North Texas defense.
California 34 North Texas 17
Cal Poly (1-1) at Oregon State (0-2) 1:15 p.m. (Pac-12) Line: N/A
After a tough loss at Hawaii expect the Beavers to get a comfortable first win of the season.
Oregon State 35 Cal Poly 17
#5 Oklahoma (2-0) at UCLA (0-2) 5 p.m. (FOX) Line: Oklahoma -23.5
UCLA was supposed to be one of the most improved teams in the conference. They have looked anything but in their two losses to Cincinnati and San Diego State. If the Bruins have any life left you’ll see some fight but they won’t be able to keep up with Jalen Hurts and the Sooners’ dynamic offense.
Oklahoma 42 UCLA 17
Texas Tech (2-0) at Arizona (1-1) 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) Line: Texas Tech -2.5
Khalil Tate and the Wildcats put up 51 points in the first half last week against Northern Arizona. Arizona went on to win, 65-41. Khalil Tate will have to do everything if the Wildcats want to win a shootout against a Texas Tech team that looks to have an improved defense.
Texas Tech 45 Arizona 38
Montana (2-0) at #15 Oregon (1-1) 7:45 p.m. (Pac-12) Line: N/A
Oregon took their anger out last week, thumping Nevada, 77-6. Another tune up game in Eugene this Saturday.
Oregon 56 Montana 14
* Check back later for my preview/prediction article for the Hawaii at Washington game
